an aggregate of all things Johnson

I like Valentine’s Day, but I think mostly because it is close to my birthday… and I LOVE my birthday. I don’t have any big plans for today. I need to finish up a lot of work, go for a run, and then maybe meet some fun friends for a casual dinner. My usual Tuesday routine. I might treat myself to a special Starbucks drink this afternoon…

Travis and I don’t do much for Valentine’s Day. I don’t need any silly gifts (or expensive ones, for that matter) and Travis said he would have a heart attack if I sent a singing telgram to his work… so that spoils my one good idea. ha!

I don’t think today needs to be a day for romantic gestures. It is too much pressure. I’m happy just acknowledging all of the big and small loves in my life…

Related posts:

1. happy valentine’s day!
2. happy birthday, travis!
3. <3

While in California I was surprised by an early birthday party from my sweet in-laws. I loved the gifts I received so much, that I wanted to tell you about them… just in case you are in the market for any of these goodies…

• Lululemon is something of a family obsession. Travis’ parents got me my very first Scuba hoodie, but it isn’t the one pictured. The one they got me is black, but it also has a detachable faux fur trim on the hood. It is limited edition. Fancy.

My sister-in-law, Chelsea, gave me a collection of gifts inspired by my love for Team in Training purple, and which also happen to line up with the February’s amethyst birthstone color:

• My new favorite running accessory? Sparkly Soul glitter headbands. They are the best because they are a continuous band of stretchy, nonslip glitter. We wore pink during the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, and Chelsea surprised me with the two purple colors for my birthday.
• Bobbi Brown is one of my favorite beauty brands and Chelsea got me the brand new, wildly bright, ultra violet lip gloss. Don’t worry, it goes on with just a hint of color.
• Nail color has been a new and somewhat unlikely hobby of mine. Nail biting has been a bad habit for my whole life, but I am trying to break it. Chelsea knows that I’ve recently been interested in the non-toxic (healthier?) nail polish brand, Butter London, and she got me the metallic purple Hrh color.

I recommend all of these items — they are my new favorites!

I sure got lucky when I married into the Johnson family… and for many more reasons than just lovely birthday gifts. xoxo

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1. run, Brooklyn, run!
2. the birthday boy
3. thing-a-day 11

It was confusing to walk out of the airport last Friday into the perfect sunshine of California after being in snowy Utah and dreary, grey New York. It was a welcome confusion, however. California is nearly always sunny, and nearly always fun.

The reason for the trip was the Tinkerbell Half Marathon that Chelsea and I ran on Sunday, but we also made sure to spend lots of time visiting with family and friends. (Unfortunately, I managed to take more photos of palm trees than I did of Travis’ sweet grandma, aunt, and uncles. boo.)

Travis, Chelsea, and I stayed for the first two nights of the trip at the actually-pretty-swanky DisneyLand Hotel so that we would be within walking distance of the race start and the expo, where we picked up our race numbers and t-shirts. The expo was fun, with food and clothing vendors, but it wasn’t quite as extensive as I had anticipated. Of course, we picked up a few souvenirs! (Thanks, Brad & June!)

The morning of the race, Chelsea and I woke up at 3:30 am! Early, but it wasn’t as bad as I was afraid it would be. I had coffee and a Luna granola bar before we headed over to the race start. The starting area was very well organized, with plenty of porta-potties and an easy bag check area. We were in our corral at the starting line before we knew it!

I was amazed that 12,000 people ran the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. That is a lot of people!! Runners were stretched out as far as we could see in front and behind us at the start. Most were wearing costumes, so Chelsea and I actually looked quite tame in our hot pink shirts, sparkly headbands, and running skirts.

After a few fireworks, the gun sounded at 5:45 am, and we were off!

The race started in the Disneyland Hotel parking lot, then we ran through Disneyland backlots and then right through the theme park, down Main Street USA, under the castle, and around through Adventureland. We stopped to take photos with a few characters along the way. We continued the race through the streets of Anaheim, through Downtown Disney, and then through the California Adventure park before ending back where we started. The Johnsons were out cheering us on in four separate spots — June even made a sign! — and they said we were smiling the whole time. It was a very fun, flat, easy course.

Now, it is considered slightly bad form to ask a runner their time when they complete a race since everyone’s speed is so personal, but I am happy to report that Chelsea and I came in at 2 hours 38 minutes. I am actually impressed! Disney races are known for being very leisurely and overall much slower than other races, plus we stopped for many photos and even waited in line for a few, so our time was actually much faster than I was expecting. Chelsea is completely strong and had no problem finishing her longest run ever. I am so proud!!

The day after our big race, we headed out early once again to spend a tourist day at Disneyland with Travis and our friend, Kristen. We rode all of the rides (my favorites are Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and California Screamin’) and ate our fair share of treats, like churros and cotton candy. A day walking around theme parks may not be the optimal activity after completing a half marathon, but I actually felt quite good. Disneyland is always a fun time.

You can see more photos from our California trip in my Flickr set and see our official photos from the Tinkerbell Half Marathon here.

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2. currently 2012…
3. taper madness

You’ve already heard about my snowy adventure in Park City, but I feel compelled to tell you a little bit more about the one Sundance film I got to see: West of Memphis.

You know when you are watching Law & Order and there is that unbelievably lazy or prejudiced cop or prosecutor who just wants to close a case and so they hastily pin a crime on someone without sufficient evidence? I always thought those were dramatic exaggerations… who could ever be ok with knowingly putting an innocent person in jail?!

Turns out… lazy, stupid people are real… and some of them work in our justice system.

West of Memphis is a documentary about the West Memphis Three, three teenage boys who were accused, convicted, and sentenced to death row for killing three eight-year-old boys in Arkansas in 1993. I don’t want to tell the whole story, but basically the teens were completely innocent. The witnesses against them consisted of a bogus “satanic” expert, an unlicensed medical examiner, and a prosecutor who manufactured evidence. The boys spent 18 years in prison while devoted supporters around the world worked to prove their innocence.

Many parts of the film (which was produced by Peter Jackson, btw) made me uneasy and the entire thing was heartbreaking, but it was also eye-opening and ultimately hopeful. I recommend it.

Related posts:

1. the morning after
2. Park City, Utah
3. Mutter Museum

I’ve already written a lot about my trip to Alt Summit last week (you can read even more about it here), but I still had to share this photo of me and author, Margaret Atwood, that was taken in Park City on Saturday.

By the end of the day on Friday I was exhausted. After being totally “on” for two and half days of conference going, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow through with my plans to head up to Park City on early Saturday morning… but man, am I glad I did! The road trip up the mountain to the home of the Sundance Film Festival was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.

I stumbled on Margaret Atwood signing books at Dolly’s Bookstore on Park City’s main street. I was sort of blown away. The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my very favorite books — a futuristic story with a strong, central, female character long before the days of The Hunger Games — and I plan to read ALL of her fiction. So, I purchased The Blind Assassin and got in line to have it signed. Atwood was lovely and kind and didn’t even seem too annoyed when I asked for a photo. I am impressed by her seemingly grueling speaking and promotional schedule. She was in Park City because her non-fiction book, Payback, had been adapted into a film being premiered at Sundance.

Sundance proved to be an art adventure in more ways than one. I did indeed see a film (which I hope to write about in its own devoted post) and I also ran into this Banksy mural on the side of an ice cream shop…

Very cool. I was told that Bansky made the art while he was in Park City for Sundance when his film Exit Through the Gift Shop premiered in 2010. The store owner put the protective glass and metal bars around the piece after poachers tried to steal it. I think Banksy is trying to say something about how documentary filmakers make an adverse impact even when they are trying to be helpful… what do you think?

Oh, and did I mention that the whole time we were wandering up and down Park City’s main street, it was pouring snow? It was basically a blizzard and apparently the highways had to be closed later in the evening! I was stomping through mounds of snow and trying not to fall on my face in front of movie stars and paparazzi. (BTW: the only stars, besides Atwood, that I saw were Will.I.Am and Robin Weigert, from Deadwood.) Thankfully, I was wearing two items that made the snowy trek totally possible: my No.6 store clog boots and my Brooklyn Industries puffy coat. Both performed wonderfully! I recommend them.

Also, I posed with a moose:

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1. jericho
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3. winter wonderland